The forecast called for 25 mph winds, heavy rain, hail. and thunderstorms. Determined to go for a ride, the fenders were strapped on, rain jacket was donned in preparation. The early morning offered forty degree temperature, dry skies, and strong winds that dried the pavement of the previous days of rain that seemed to have been falling unrelentingly. Conditions proved less than predicted. Sprinting into the wind on the flat route along the waterfront, we spied Bertha, the largest deep bore tunneling machine in the world. Berthawas being staged and prepped to rip earth asunder to create Seattle’s new tunnel that will replace the aging Alaskan Way viaduct. Chiefly, the route was flat, in spite of the fact, the steady wind provided fiercesome resistance. Rounding the turn onto Harbor Avenue, the wind turned from foe to friend and propelled us upward as we peeled off to make the climb up California Ave SW and to Hotwire Coffee, the mid-ride espresso stop.

Hotwire is nestled next to the West Seattle post office and is deposited into a tiny brick building that appears to be a former gatehouse of a building complex with a previous life. Our historical investigation ended with this supposition and begs for further research. Ironwork fencing encloses a quaint covered courtyard that one enters through to gain access to Hotwire.

Inside, one steps immediately from the door to the espresso bar to place an order. They have neatly packed the coffee house with a bevy offerings including, food, beverages, tea, coffee and mexican mochas. If in a hurry, Textwire can be used to fire your advance order in so it is ready when you arrive. Natural brick provides a warm and textured backdrop to the barista, busily brewing beverages. There is a sliver of high counter with two bar stools, four computers lined up along the window, and a two seat cafe table, if you want to linger a bit. Red tubular glass table lamps cast a glow within the space.

The cashier was buoyant and full of personality that lit up the place. She took our order and delivered it to the barista who expertly pulled an espresso. This was our second visit to Hotwire and the quality of espresso was good on both occasions. The aroma was rich, the crema, while not pristine, had good depth. The flavor of the coffee was excellent with a robust satisfying character and sweet chocolaty finish. We were provided a splash of soda water on request. The presentation of the espresso was different each time, it came once with saucer and spoon, another time just the cup, and a third time in a small cappuccino cup.

Hotwire we enjoyed our visit very much and will certainly return for another delicious espresso. Bravo to you! We give you three out of five wheels for the espresso experience. The flavor was very good and certainly will make for the best espresso based beverages. The service was wonderful. The crema had some minor outcroppings of bubbles and needs a touch more fullness to provide an exquisite accompaniment to the delicious flavor.

*Paradoxical footnote: All the cafes we spend time to write about we recommend as destinations. We provide the honest feedback and rating of the espresso experience because we are interested to help cultivate the best success for future visits. Even though we may give the espresso experience a one wheel rating we can still love and recommend a visit to the cafe because of the overall character of place, amongst other qualities.